A Month in Review

17 for 2017 (nanacathydotcom)

Well, it’s been a month of pursuing the goals I set for myself this year.  It was not easy, but I found that having them in my bullet journal has really helped to keep focused on them.  I wasn’t perfect in completing them, but I do feel accomplished.

1. Make 4 journal pages a month

   

   1. Yearly Goal page – this page is for the goals that I want to achieve throughout the year

   

   2. One of my writing challenges this month was come up with metaphors.  I asked the kids to help me and this is what we came up with.

   

   3. Monthly Goal Pages – these pages help me keep track of things that I want to achieve monthly plus I get to decorate them with fun stickers.  Though the 3-D stickers may have been a little much for my journal, but I’ll chalk it up to lesson learned.

   

   4. Miles Walked in 2017 – I am hoping to fill every single one of these squares by the end of the year, though I secretly hope I can fill them all before the end of the year forcing me to make another page.  Cross your fingers for me.

2. Exercise at the gym 2 times a week – I didn’t make it to the gym this past month. Walking has really taken it out of me, but I did try some pilates at home once a week.
3. Walk 5 times a week – week 1: 2/5 week 2: 5/5 week 3: 5/5 week 4: 0/5 (road trip recovery) week 5: 2/2 – I am proud of myself for all the walks I got in this month despite the exhaustion after the road trip.  I got back to it this week with the help of my Fitbit friends who keep me going with our weekly challenges.
4. Make 5 fabric/yarn projects this year – I converted my flip flops earlier this year and on Monday I started my first Loom Knit project.  I decided to go with something simple like a scarf so I can get a feel for the loom.
5. Write in my journal at least 3 times a week – This one I averaged about 1-2 a week.  I am a little disappointed in myself on this one.
6. Submit 6 stories to publications throughout the year – did not get to this one this month
7. Complete 3 5K’s this year – I haven’t done one yet, but I have been looking them up to see which ones to sign up for.  I am thinking my first one may be a virtual one.
8. Read/Listen to 65 books – I have read 9 books so far this year
   1. A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris
   2. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
   3. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
   4. Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
   5. The Obsidian Chamber by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
   6. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
   7. The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
   8. The Fever Code by James Dashner
   9. The Fearsome Foursome (Tales of the Haunted Mansion #1) by Amicus Arcane – I read this one to the kids over their week off
9. Make 12 Scrapbook Pages

 

Photo Booth Pictures from my BIL 60th Birthday

 

10. Take 3 road trips this year – Road trip to LA for the Cookie Con

11. Take 1 vacation this year – not yet, but I’m researching places

12. Find 12 geocaches – all the rain hampered this one a little this month…looking forward to finding some this month

13. Commit 12 Random Acts of Kindness –  Over the break with the kids we did a few

1. Tape Popcorn to Redbox machines all over town
2. Make pipe cleaner flowers and hearts and attach them to benches, fences and poles around town
3. Leave bottles of bubbles at our local parks for the other kids on break from school to play with                                                              

14. Write letters to my senators once a month re: issues that are coming up for a vote or are concerning me – I sent out 2 letters this month and had intended to attend the Feinstein Empty Chair Town Hall meeting, but after a week of 12 hour days with the kids, I was completely exhausted.

15. Work on notes for NaMoWriMo (10 hours a month) – I got in 1 hour  – another disappointing area for me, but one I intend to remedy.  I’m not putting enough time into my writing and so I am going to make adjustments to fix that.

16. Draw paint or color 12 times this year – I actually got 2 postcards colored to send out for birthdays this so far.

17. Buy at least one Christmas present a month – The scarf I am knitting (if it comes out – crossing fingers) will be a Christmas gift.

I hope you all moving forward and meeting your goals.  WE CAN DO IT!!!

 

17 for 2017

If you’ve been following along with me, you will know that my year has started out a bit rocky.  Wisdom teeth and the terrible awful flu have caused havoc these last few weeks, but now that it feels like I am getting back on my feet health wise, it is time to make some goals for this year and work towards them.

I was inspired by the blog Wild Daffodil to do “17 for 2017”, but unlike her goals that use the numbers as part of her goal, I just did 17 goals because I found that I couldn’t fit what I wanted to achieve in the same way. So here goes:

1. Make 4 journal pages a month
2. Exercise at the gym 2x a week
3. Walk 5x a week
4. Make (at least) 5 fabric/yarn projects this year
5. Write in my journal 3 times a week
6. Submit 6 stories to different publications through the year
7. Complete 3 5K’s  this year
8. Read/listen to 65 books (I did 72 last year, but I figured with all my craftiness and writing going on, I may not read as much)
9. Make 12 Scrapbook pages
10. Take 3 road trips this year (my husband and I used to go all the time…we need to start again)
11. Take 1 vacation this year (it’s been nearly 5 years since I’ve taken a proper vacation…it’s time to change that)
12. Find 12 geocaches this year
13. Commit 12 Random Acts of Kindness this year
14. Write my representatives once a month re: current issues coming for a vote or that are concerning me (I figured I gotta start complaining to the right people especially in the times we find ourselves in)
15. Work (at least) 10 hours a month preparing for NaMo WriMo – I hope this will be my first year participating
16. Draw/Paint/Color 12 times this year
17. Buy (at least) one Christmas present a month (trying to avoid draining my bank account in December every year)

I have broken them down by goals I want to achieve weekly/ monthly and by the end of the year.  I added pie charts to my bullet journal that I can color and keep track of (as you’ll see in the featured photo for this blog).  I will be updating my progress each month at the end of the month to help keep my focus on my goals.  I hope to achieve them all, but I’ll be happy if I just stay focused as that seems to be one of my bigger problems. Below are some of the journal pages I created this month to also help me keep track of some of the things in my life.  The first is my “Books Read in 2017” page to write in each book as I complete it.  My “2017 Year in Pixels” is to keep track of my moods throughout the year.  The “Movie Night” page is the place I will glue in all my movie tickets for the year.  As you can see, my husband and I finally got out to see our first movie of the year today.

The next one was just for fun.  I originally just wanted to make a collage of the Christmas Wrapping paper I used so I can see the different choices I make each year, but then I turned into what you see here.  There were 4 different rolls; one with the animals, one with the trees, one with the chevron design, and one that just Merry Christmas over and over.

Here’s to 2017…may we all keep moving forward – remembering the past, living in the present, and looking ahead to the future

One Word Photo Challenge: Distance

OWPC: Distance (Jennifer Nichole Wells)

We continued our Random Acts of Kindness this week by collecting and painting rocks with positive words.  The kids and I really enjoyed transforming these boring gray rocks into these beautiful works of art.  I hope we were able to put a smile on someone’s face today.  I will wonder, just like the kids (they wanted to stay on the walking trail to watch people’s reactions), whether someone picked up one of our rocks and took it home. Will they look at it and smile every time they see it?  Did we make a difference in someone’s day(s)?  All I can do is hope and continue to do these Random Acts of Kindness.  The kids have been inspired and I hope they want to continue this journey with me despite not knowing for sure if we are making a difference.  Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

 

 

Sunday Trees 261

Inhale the Future, Exhale the Past.

I know it has been awhile since I’ve posted, but I needed some time away from the internet.  I needed to deal with the whirlwind of emotions causing destruction in my brain.      What a week.  I am thankful for the young girls I work with so much.  They sensed my sadness and frustration despite my trying to hide it while at work.  They were a great support this week.  We decided to commit some Random Acts of Kindness to cheer not only me, but other people up too.  We got crafty and decorated bookmarks with short inspiration quotes, doodles, borders and stickers and then on Friday, we went to every Little Free Library we could find and hid our bookmarks in a book to surprise an unsuspecting reader.  We had originally planned to hide them at the public libraries closest to us, but the flaw in our plan was that it was a holiday and the libraries were closed.  We found around 10 Free Little Libraries,  but the girls we all wanted to keep going, so we went to a bookstore and put a bunch of book marks in popular and new release books  that we were sure people would be buying soon for Christmas gifts.  It really lifted my spirit to see them enjoy doing something so simple.  Our plan for this coming week is to paint rocks with positive words and leave them for people to find around town.  They are really excited about this one because they love to paint.  We collected rocks as we searched for the Free Little Libraries on Friday.  I can’t wait to see what designs they come up with and which words they choose.  We also plan to do a few more bookmarks and hide them at the library we go to on Thursdays to do homework before volleyball practice.

I took this week’s picture on my way out to pick up the girls for our crazy day.  I was trying to get out of my funk and find positive things in the world around me to appreciate on my walk to my car and saw this tree with these beautiful bright red leaves.  It’s the little things.  Here’s to another, hopefully more positive, week!!

Sunday Trees 261 (Becca Givens)